Pape Gueye fires up Villarreal with goals

Pape Gueye is becoming Villarreal’s most reliable attacking outlet at the start of the season. As MARCA reports, the Senegalese midfielder has three goals, making him his team’s top scorer as the yellow submarines have struggled to find accuracy up front.

Two goals from the bench

In LaLiga action this Thursday at La Rosaleda against Málaga CF, Gueye was decisive: he came on from the bench and scored two of Villarreal’s three goals in a win. Those strikes add to the one he netted on the opening matchday at El Sardinero and another he scored versus Racing, taking him above other names who had already been contributing to the goals.

According to MARCA, Gueye’s finishing has been sharp: he has converted three goals from five on-target attempts so far, including one from the spot. In Málaga, the penalty that sealed the 1-3 result came with some friction, with an argument between Gueye and his teammate Mikautadze over who would take the kick.

Pérez plays it down

After the match, Villarreal coach Iñigo Pérez downplayed the moment. “About the orders for the takers, the emotion and the context you live through inside isn’t the same as what you live outside, so to handle those situations sometimes you lack information,” he said, adding that he saw the “typical exchange” between two players who want to take the penalty and that the two “also have an excellent relationship.”

With Gueye finding form like this, Villarreal will back him as a crucial piece—one that can contribute in different ways—while the team’s focus now turns to Levante, a game he referenced after the victory.